The New Rose Garden

Whether for their rich history, folklore, or fragrant beauty, garden roses are loved around the world. Originating from wild species found across Asia, Europe and North America, their cultivation and breeding has evolved along with human society for centuries.

While wandering through this two-acre garden we hope you’ll stop and smell the roses, explore their rich past, and discover how, like us all, they are changing for a sustainable future.

Tours, Discovery, and More!

We are excited to present our new garden starting June 23, 2018! Join us in Hendrie Park as we celebrate Roses with entertainment, discovery carts, tours and more, all included in your General Admission or Membership.

The Roses

Despite our best efforts, our rose collection has languished, due in part to the cosmetic pesticide ban in 2009, and disease-prone cultivars. These left the whole garden vulnerable to detrimental insects, and diseases such as black spot, a fungal disease that has been blamed for a decline in the popularity of rose-growing in recent decades.

To bring new life and vibrancy into the garden required starting from scratch. Using environmentally-friendly treatments couldn’t outweigh the reality that we were growing a large monoculture of disease-prone Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses in the shadow of large shade trees.

The new rose garden was designed with a sturdy foundation of disease-resistant, disease-tolerant, and cold-hardy roses, including some Canadian introductions you can find at local growers. Surrounding this base of roses are featured companion plants, some of which provide direct allelopathic health benefits to the roses when planted in close proximity. The new garden will be hardy, strong, and full of colour throughout the whole growing season.

Canadian Shield™

One of the hardy roses that will be featured in the new garden is Canadian Shield™, a low-maintenance, versatile garden and landscape rose that promises plenty of full red flowers and glossy green foliage throughout the growing season. The rose is a repeat bloomer, making it a majestic beauty all season, and just as its name suggests, it’s a hardy flower that can stand up to winter and resist disease from St. John’s, N.L., to Victoria, B.C.

The hugely popular Canadian Shield™ rose is from Vineland’s 49th Parallel Collection, developed at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland). Canadian Shield™ is the first rose released in the collection and was named Canada Blooms’ 2017 Plant of the Year.

History of the Centennial Rose Garden

A stunning garden for its time, the Centennial Rose Garden has provided over 50 years of memories to generations that have walked its pathways.

1964: Centennial Rose Garden designed by J. Austin Floyd

1965: Construction of Centennial Rose Garden begins

1967: Rose Garden opens to the public in recognition of Canada's Centennial Year

1974: Turner Pavilion Teahouse opens

1975: Twin pergolas designed by Arthur Scott are completed

2008: Reflecting ponds open to the public

2017: Construction of the new Rose Garden begins

2018: Summer - new Rose Garden opens to the public

Despite the best efforts of RBG's horticulture team, the collection had suffered in recent years. Using environmentally-friendly treatments could not outweigh the reality that the garden was made up of a large monoculture of disease-prone Hybrid teas and Floribunda roses in the shadow of large shade trees.

RBG recognized it was time for a change. In 2017, construction began on the rejuvenated garden, sacrificing a year of roses in order to take the rose garden in a bold new direction.

A Sustainable Garden for the Future

With a forward-thinking approach, we are responding to the effects of climate change and the expectations of our visitors. We are building the Rose Garden, together with beautiful companion plants, as a healthy eco-system garden.

Under these beneficial plant pairings is a trickle irrigation system that allows the roses and their companions to build a deeper root system. Deep roots, combined with leveled mulching, rely on rain instead of regular watering, further building in an eco-friendly approach.

This plant pairing and advanced irrigation system is combined with well-planted soil chemistry, creating a garden that is resilient and sustainable. A garden focused on healthy soil working together to attract beneficial insects and ward off the threat of invasive pests. With this thoughtful approach, beauty and sustainability are inter-woven, a holistic approach that builds a healthy ecosystem within the garden – the true hallmark of a 21st century rose garden.

Centennial Rose Garden, early 2000s

We Need Your Support!

What is your rose story?

Join us in creating a garden to inspire and connect with generations to come. Please take some time to donate to the Rose Garden Rejuvenation project today.

What Do Roses Mean to You?

"To me, Roses invoke nostalgia, history, and a sense of place, taking me back to my earliest memories of deciding to make horticulture a career and not just a hobby."

- Jim Mack, Head of HorticultureRoyal Botanical Gardens

"Roses are one of the oldest flowering plants and surely the most loved and admired. To me they are enduring and universal in their appeal and there is nothing that compares to the fragrance of a rose on a warm summer day or the myriad of colours and flower forms."

An RBG tradition continues with another stunning lineup of entertainment returning to the Hendrie Park stage. Enjoy a cold drink and BBQ and get set for some award-winning jazz, blues, country and roots musicians in our lovely garden setting.

RBG provides gorgeous venues for both reception and ceremony, decadent meals and endless opportunities for those perfect photos. Traditional or casual, large or small, our staff are dedicated to taking the worry out of your wedding and providing the personal service you deserve to help plan your big day.